The present invention is directed to an industrial process terminal and to the mounting thereof. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an industrial process terminal mounting system having an electronics housing that allows the industrial process terminal to be either panel mounted or DIN rail mounted.
Industrial process control equipment such as, for example, industrial weighing scales, often include a process terminal (terminal) that may be mounted in a control panel or similar housing. Such a process terminal may include various electronic components and a user interface. When a user interface is present, it may be accessible from outside of the control panel or may reside wholly within the control panel enclosure. Alternatively, terminals and other similar instrumentation may have minimal or no user interface.
Terminals are typically adapted for either panel mounting or DIN rail mounting. For example, terminals having no user interface or only a minimal user interface are frequently mounted on a DIN rail located within a control panel enclosure. Alternatively, terminals having a more substantial or more frequently accessed user interface may be panel mounted, wherein a majority of the terminal electronics reside within the control panel enclosure while a user interface is accessible from the outside thereof. Unfortunately, terminals have been hitherto designed for one mounting method or the other. Consequently, such terminals have required different and dedicated mounting hardware, which limits terminal mounting interchangeability and increases product costs. In contrast, the present invention allows a terminal to be panel mounted or DIN rail mounted, with the addition of only minor and inexpensive mounting components.